Flee Idolatry
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## START RECORDING
## Flee Idolatry
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## START RECORDING
## Intro:
It is good to be with you this morning. If you have your Bible or the device you look up scripture on, please find I Corinthians chapter 10. That is where we will be camped out this morning. The passage we come to today is not one of the easiest to deal with. Paul, in writing to the Corinthian church has been dealing with issues they had raised to him in writing and via messengers. They had all kinds of problems going on in the Corinthian church and when we go through them divisions, idolatry, sexual immorality, etc, it reminds us of the Israelites in the Old Testament. We’re not alone because it reminded Paul of them and in fact, at the beginning of this passage, he goes through an accounting of some of the blessings and sins of the Israelites and points out that these things are written to be an example to the Corinthians and therefore also to all of us as well.
It’s a stark passage of warning but in it you find a sweet verse of relief and freedom. As we read, look for that building of story of the examples of Israel and then the helpfulness that Paul includes for the Corinthians as they face these temptations. John MacArthur calls this “a warning about the possibility of falling from blessing into judgement,” and a “dramatic portion of scripture.”
Would you follow along as I read:
## Read Scripture
1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
>
> (ESV): For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
> 6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
> 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
Paul uses the sins of Israel in Moses’ day as a basis for the warning he gives to the Corinthians. They were tremendously blessed but most of them died in the wilderness. Only Joshua and Caleb, the two faithful guys made it to the promised land.
There is a word used here in the Greek, “gar”, translated “for.” It connects this passage with the previous argument in chapters 8 and 9.
## PRAY
I. Paul details the blessings the Israelites had enjoyed from the Lord.
I. Paul details the blessings the Israelites had enjoyed from the Lord.
It is clear to see from the scriptural accounts that Paul alludes to that the Israelites had enjoyed great blessings from the Lord. It is possible when you are a blessed people to become so over confident in your blessed position that you fall into sin. The Israelites were living on the edge of this. They were allowing too much and not exercising enough self-denial. Paul saw this emerging in the church at Corinth and warns them.
The Israelites were immersed in Moses’ leadership. They were one with their leader. Moses was God’s chosen leader for the people and they were united. They ate the same spiritual food. God provided food and drink to them in the wilderness.
- Christ was the rock.
Yet with most, God was not pleased.
II. Paul describes the abuses that Israel had committed.
II. Paul describes the abuses that Israel had committed.
So Paul describes the blessings that the Lord had given to Israel but then he also accounts the abuses that they had committed. Back in the days of Moses, the people were doing to themselves what Paul feared himself… being disqualified. Look at the end of chapter 9 that precedes this passage for context.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
>
(ESV)
> 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Paul understood the truth that he was not above falling and must keep a close watch on his life. The flesh wars with the spirit. Paul wrote of this in the book of Romans. The Israelites did evil things because they craved evil things. In my Biblical Counseling training there is a very basic truth that we want people to understand. It’s this: “We do what we do because we want what we want.” In other words, there is a problem at the heart level that causes us to want the sin and that is why we do the action. The Israelites craved sin. They desired sin. They longed after evil things. And instead of disciplining themselves and remaining faithful to the Lord, they acted on their wicked desires. Paul knew this was an example for us. He knew that he was not above this and must be watchful. And he warns the Corinthian Christians and us as well. Worldliness craves the things of the world. The desires the dreams, the plans and motivations of the world.
The Israelites were led by the Lord Himself and still turned away. Many times people have said, “if I saw the miraculous things in scripture then I would definitely believe... or people would believe...” But we understand that people saw the miraculous things the Lord did to rescue Israel from Egypt and the people still sinned against God. They got too high on themselves, their wants, their deep desires. And their desires led them into sin.
One theologian says that there are plenty of warnings about worldliness and this happens when people fail to bring their hearts in full devotion to Christ. They allow something else to have some of their devotion. Idolatry was a big deal in the city of Corinth. It was a hot button issue for sure.
III. Paul gives admonitions to the Corinthians and to us.
III. Paul gives admonitions to the Corinthians and to us.
Verse 13 gives some sweet factors leading to our deliverance from temptation.
### Conclusion/Application/Call for response
A. Flee idolatry
A. Flee idolatry
- Not even a hint of it. (Illustration)1
- > John McGinty III received the Medal of Honor for his fierce leadership of a Marine platoon in the Vietnam War. In July 1966 their battalion found themselves confronting a North Vietnamese force of 1,000 soldiers deep in the jungle. McGinty’s 32 men held off wave after wave of the enemy as they provided rear guard for the retreating American force.
> Despite shrapnel wounds in his leg, back and left eye, McGinty killed five enemy soldiers at point-blank range with this .45-caliber pistol. He then called in naval airstrikes to within 50 yards of his position. The napalm strikes routed the North Vietnamese, who left an estimated 500 bodies on the battlefield.
> McGinty grew up in an Irish family that was Catholic but in the early 1980s he became a born-again Christian. He stopped wearing his Medal of Honor because it featured the image of the mythical Roman goddess Minerva. Citing the biblical commandment against idolatry, he told the Los Angeles Times in 1983 that he “:could never stand before God as a Christian with that thing around my throat.”
> His son said in an interview that his father didn’t have a problem with the honor, but “like a lot of Medal of Honor guys, he realized the reason he was still alive is the one true God.”
- Don’t go crazy with this now. He wasn’t saying that earning the medal was bad. But he wasn’t willing to even appear to serve another God. His allegiance was in God alone.
- Paul says to flee idolatry. Run away from it. Don’t even mess with it. Don’t become so proud of how blessed you are or how mature you are that you get fooled by the deceptiveness and craftiness of sin. You can be fooled. You can not combine your idol worship with worship of God. You serve one master.
- (From previous sermon) We don’t like the word discipline. But Paul recognized something. Our flesh is weak and wars against the Spirit everyday. We must be disciplined but not through our own effort. But through Christ’s strength alive in us! Our hearts must be set ablaze by the gospel.
B. Run from sexual immorality.
B. Run from sexual immorality.
C. Don’t put Christ to the test.
C. Don’t put Christ to the test.
D. Don’t grumble as the Israelites did.
D. Don’t grumble as the Israelites did.
Big Truth: You are not good enough to do this by yourself. But Jesus IS!
Big Truth: You are not good enough to do this by yourself. But Jesus IS!
Repent and believe the good news of the gospel
Repent and believe the good news of the gospel
- You can not solve this problem on your own.